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NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided to discontinue three charter schools from using public-school space, leaving hundreds of students without a school for next year.

According to an editorial in the New York Post, three Success Academy charter schools, run by Eva Moskowitz, will have to find new locations. The charter schools are known for their excellence in student performance:

Ninety-seven percent of its students are children of color. Not only is it Harlem’s best middle school, last year its fifth graders ranked tops in the state for math. Here’s their reward: 210 students have just found themselves school-less for next year, with the local public alternatives being some of the lowest-performing middle schools in the state.

By targeting the public schools run by Moskowitz, the mayor clearly hopes to split the charter movement. But in so choosing, he revealed his true colors. Because he did not target one of the mediocre charters. Nor did he pretend he was taking away space from Eva’s kids because they weren’t learning.

To the contrary: De Blasio is taking the space away because these kids are learning. That’s a huge embarrassment to a mayor and his union allies who spend their time excusing public school failure rather than redressing it. So he’s taking it out on the kids. How nasty is that?